Tag Archives: lifestyle

Our home is important to us, it keeps us protected against the harsh outside elements and dry against the rain, which is why you might find it surprising that our home could actually be affecting our good health! There are a few things around the house that can leave us with cold symptoms or even weaken our immune systems if we aren’t careful, follow this guide to ensure your home works with you and not against you.

In the Fridge

You use the fridge to keep things cool and safe to eat, however, it can also be home to huge amounts of bacteria that can cause nasty illnesses including salmonella. Not to mention, it can rapidly speed up the spoiling of your freshly bought produce, wasting both food and money when you need to throw it out. To combat, clean your fridge out regularly, using a vinegar-water mixture to ensure any hidden bacteria is sufficiently tackled and making your fridge safe again.

In Your Bed

Not the bed! Likely your most comfortable place to kick back and relax after a hard day’s work, your bed can actually cause you to feel more lethargic and irritate conditions such as asthma and allergies. This is due to an increased build up of dead dust mites and their waste that collects in your sheets and pillows.

Wash your bedding regularly at a minimum temperature of 40degrees C with an antibacterial detergent and avoid making your bed (or pull back the sheets when you do). A warm, moist room is heaven to a dust mite, yet simply pulling your sheets back during the day removes this moisture and causes them to dehydrate and dry out.

On Your Walls

Have you noticed any black mould spots or fungi growth on your walls? You might be suffering from a damp problem that will require a damp proofing company to come out and remedy the situation. You may also find similar in the walls while carrying out home improvements, make sure to stay aware and record any damp spots you notice.

Increased damp in the home not only affects structural integrity but the nasty spores released by the fungi can cause you to cough and sneeze more and negatively affect pre-existing breathing conditions including asthma. Click here for more information on treating a damp problem via a professional damp proofing company.

On Your Sponge

Not many people realise that their kitchen sponge is, most often, the dirtiest object in your home, filled with bacteria which can be quickly spread around your kitchen or onto your tableware. To prevent germs and bacteria taking over your sponge when you are finished washing up or cleaning down, wash thoroughly in hot water, wring out as much water as possible and leave to dry in a well-ventilated spot in your kitchen. You can also sanitise your sponge by dampening slightly and heating on high in the microwave for a minute, although it might be easier to regularly change your sponge, once or twice a week.

In Your Shower

The shower is an area in the home that many people think couldn’t possibly harbour any ill will towards us, surely! It is the place that we get clean after all, however, all that dirt has to go somewhere, and it doesn’t always end down the drain. Your shower curtain is a prime offender and should be washed on a minimum 40degree C wash on a regular basis to prevent build up of mould and bacteria, along with your bath mats, particularly if you are using baby powder in your drying routine.

A 2009 study found that up to 30% of shower heads contained high amounts of Mycobacterium avium a type of bacteria known for causing infections and diseases when inhaled or swallowed. While there isn’t a high risk of contracting an infection from the presence of this bacteria, make sure to take apart your shower head and clean thoroughly with a vinegar-water or anti-bacterial mixture, replacing the head every six to eight months.

By being on top of regular cleaning and changing the way we clean some materials in our home (hot washes for anything that regularly comes into contact with your skin) we can ensure that our home keeps us safe, warm and healthy rather than wearing us down.

It is very easy to get lost in your own head, thinking, planning, worrying etc… when I am left alone with my own thoughts I tend to focus on all the things I am not doing and worrying about where my life is going and not being the best I can be etc. and then I start to feel down. Looking after yourself mentally is so important and yet such an easy thing not to do. Spending time alone makes me realise how important it is to spend time with friends and family. When I am around people I love and care about I never feel low or like I’m not good enough so I love surrounding myself with those people as much as I can.

The happiest time of my life as all the seaside trips we made as a family when I was a kid, If I could go back to those times I would in a heartbeat. My family and I used t go to Torquay every year in the summer and stay in a B&B that had 2 live in Labradors, I must have been around 7 or 8 when we first started going and literally thought it was the best place in the world. I will remember those trips fondly.

My mum was diagnosed with progressive MS in the mid nineties and she knew she would get sicker and sicker so she planned a holiday to Florida and took me and my little sister. It was the first time I had ever been on a plane and we all had an amazing time, surprise surprise one of the things I enjoyed the most about the trip was all the amazing food lol. These are the things that at the time just seems like a bit of fun and something to do but creating memories with the people you love is so important and I thank my lucky stars that I have so many. Having lost my mum recently these memories mean more to me now than ever. I love to surround myself with people that I love creating more memories and just generally having a good old time.

This summer has been spent a little differently, less fun and frolics and more soul searching and trying to find some sort of direction. I have spent my summer on small projects, getting used to living back in the big city and travelling up and down the UK seeing friends and having nights out. This summer has seemed really short because the weather didn’t hold up for very long but we managed to get in a couple of barbecues and some lovely days out with both friends and family. Summers as an adult are hugely different to what they were as a child. I’m hoping I can make future summers a little bit more like the ones I had as a kid.. maybe next year a little break might be in order, a little longer and further than the odd weekend in the Midlands lol

I spend a lot of time and money going out on nights out and weekends away and surrounding myself with people but I am trying to find some balance in terms of spending time with friends and family and spending time alone.

Something I am keen to start working on more now is trying to be just as happy when I am on my own. I have never really sat and thought about the importance of taking care of your own mental/emotional health. I was reading these Five Tips to Bring Balance into Your Life and realised just how responsible I am for my own happiness. I allow myself to think negatively about myself and berate myself for not doing enough whereas I wouldn’t stand for that from anyone else. The five tips on TheCircle website seem like a good place to start for me as each step seems doable and potentially beneficial in my quest to a move balanced and healthy mind. Personally for me I need to set goals and not attack myself every time I mess up. Maybe being mindful and setting boundaries and seeking inspiration will help me focus on doing positive things rather than constantly thinking about what I’m not doing.

It’s so difficult to know how to take care of yourself mentally, I think finding resources online to help with that are a good place to start.

Something I read in the five steps really made me think, when you have things to do and you are going over and over them in your head you are wasting so much mental energy doing the work in your head that you are exhausted before you even start. I want to start writing things down on paper so I can free my mind of all the thoughts that are not doing me any good and hopefully free up some space for good/positive things instead.

Any tips or links that you think may be useful would be much appreciated x

With our dads birthday coming up my sisters and I have been thinking about doing something a little more interesting that the usual shirt or men’s fragrance, so we started looking into some experience days. There are a ton of sites and a ton of different experiences so its difficult to know where to start. I was sent the link to Into The Blue Experiences and I was amazed at the amount of experiences they have available. They have over 2000 experience days available through the website in the form of gift voucher which can be used at the recipients convenience.

I remember years and years and years ago my mum and I chose a driving experience day for my dad and he absolutely loved it, not only was it a a great experience for him and a wonderful memory it was also a really lovely memory for me to have. Being a part of arranging something for my dad that he loved so much and really appreciated. I really think these can be some of the best types of gifts, it shows that you care and that you put some thought into what you think the person might enjoy but its also very simple and all of the details are sorted for you.

I’m not a driver but I immediately look for something that is as far from the everyday London driving experience as possible, which took me to their off road adventures, they look absolutely amazing and so much fun, my dad has been driving for like a million years so me might not find those as fun as I would so I went on to look at the super cars cos who wouldn’t want to feel like James Bond for the day but that is very similar to the experience we sent him on when I was a kid. There are so many different things to choose from… I know he wouldn’t be keen on the jumping out of a plane type experiences so I can skip those. He is definitely a stereotypical man’s man so I don’t think he would go for the pampering ones or even the Gourmet experiences, but I think that is what is so good about Into The Blue Experiences, there is a plethora of fun options, so my sisters and I will continue to explore the site and see what other options may be suitable, after all we do have another couple on months to decide.

The experiences are presented in categories to make it easier to find something suitable for example gifts for him, gifts for her, anniversary and 2 for 1’s which I think can be a good idea if you are open to recommendations but if you already know the kind of experience you are looking for, like me lol, then you can peruse the experience groups, Driving, Water sports, Flying, Outdoor, Creative, Pampering, Days out and Gourmet mmmm, I know which one I would want.

Have you guys had any experience days??? I’d love to hear what you did and why you think it was chosen for you.

Plus size fashion, home and lifestyle blog.

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About Me

Im so sick and tired of hearing what fat girls should and
shouldn’t be wearing...

I am a plus size makeup artist born and raised in London, I
currently wear a dress size 30 sometimes even a 32!

I dress for myself every single day, whether that be jeans
and a T-shirt or a sexy bodycon dress. I am very body positive and have never
felt the need to push my views onto anyone else, Recently though I have been
approached by a number of girls on a number of different occasions with
comments such as “I wish I had the confidence to wear a dress like that” and
similar such statements, I think it has a lot more to do with not really giving
a monkeys what other people think, especially people who have no impact on our
lives whatsoever i.e. that guy on the bus sneering at my big fat exposed arms
lol

Ok so....

There is a lot of talk about plus size women and fashion,
the internet is awash with plus size women look fabulous in the latest trends,
bright colours, prints...the lot!

I for one love this, it is long overdue, what I think we are
still not seeing enough of is plus size women on the larger end of the scale
looking just as fabulous in the latest trends. I wear a UK dress size 30 and I
am a massive fan of fashion (yes pun intended x), with that being said I dont
feel like women my size should limited in what we wear, as long as fashionable
clothes are available to us I don’t feel like society should have any bearing
on whether we purchase these items and wear them proudly.

I have decided to start a blog with the occasion vlog just
to show people that us fat girls can wear whatever we like, as long as I feel
comfortable wearing said items I will continue to wear them, this is not to say
I walk around in outrageous outfits everyday but I do like to sport the
occasional form fitting dress or expose my midriff... and I just want to show
other plus size women that we can and should wear whatever the hell we
like!!!!!!!